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A SECOND successive century from Sean Williams fired Zimbabwe to an opening victory in the Super Six of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 when they dismissed spirited underdogs Oman by 14 runs at Queens Sports Club.
After winning four from four in the group stages, the hosts are now up to six points in the Super Six thanks to their four points carried over and a further two picked up yesterday.
Oman battled hard, with a century from Kashyap Prajapati, but could never keep up with the rate as they tried to chase a target of 333. But they were quite close with such a brilliant fightback.
Zimbabwe’s captain Craig Ervine was relieved with the close win. “Very relieved, it was a tough game of cricket for us today,” he said after the game.
“We thought that 280-290 was going to be a good score. But we figured out that the wicket was very good. Thanks to Williams’ innings we scored 330.
“The wicket did seem different in the morning, but our bowlers missed our lines and lengths, and that made it easier for the Oman batters. It’s quite tough when you lose the toss and are put in to bat first. Bowling second we have to look at 320-330.
“We have been playing good cricket, so we don’t need to change much. Today was a tough day, but we played extremely well. Days like these take energy out of you, so we need to rest and come back stronger against Sri Lanka (on Sunday).”
In five innings at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, Williams has notched three centuries and a 91, and he was at it once again to take down Oman.
A brilliant 142 from 103 balls set the platform for Zimbabwe to make 332 for seven after being put into bat on their way to their highest total at Queens Sports Club. The previous highest for Zimbabwe was 329/9 against New Zealand in 2011.
Williams came to the crease yesterday after skipper Craig Ervine (21) was bowled by Kaleemullah (1/39), with Joylord Gumbie (25) following shortly afterwards to Fayyaz Butt (4/79) to leave Zimbabwe 48 for two.
A 64-run stand with Wessly Madhevere (23) started the rebuild, and Williams and Sikandar Raza (42) then added 112 for the fourth wicket to lay the foundations for a huge score.
Fayyaz removed both set batters, either side of trapping Ryan Burl (13) leg before, but Zimbabwe were still looking good on 276 for six with five overs remaining.
And some big hitting from Luke Jongwe carried them to an even bigger total, needing just 28 balls to crash an unbeaten 43 – a knock that proved crucial in the end.
Prajapati batted with intent from the off, dominating an opening stand of 29 before Jatinder Singh fell having contributed just two. That brought Aqib Ilyas to the crease, and with Kashyap taking the initiative, the pair added 83. Raza had Aqib caught behind for 45, before a 44-run stand with Zeeshan Maqsood ended when the skipper was forced to retire hurt having injured his hamstring while going for a sweep.
With the required rate rising, it felt like Kashyap would need to stay until the end but a stunning catch from Raza off Blessing Muzarabani ended his knock on 103 from just 97 balls. That left Oman needing 142 from 15 overs, a task made trickier when Richard Ngarava removed Shoaib Khan caught and bowled for 11.
Ayaan Khan was not going to go down without a fight though, and smashed 47 off just 43 deliveries before he was caught in the deep off Muzarabani in the 45th over.
Kaleemullah then followed, caught on the boundary by Jongwe with a juggling attempt where he twice had to toss the ball into the air as he stepped over the rope before completing the remarkable catch.
Mohammad Nadeem (30*) gave it his all to take Oman to a famous victory but when they needed 29 off the final over, their race was all but run.
Zeeshan (37) returned and smashed a six and a four off that last over, taking Oman to their highest ODI score, but they finished 14 runs short as he fell off the final ball.
Sri Lanka will seek to emulate Zimbabwe in their opening game of the Super Six, when they take on the Netherlands in Bulawayo today.
Scores in brief
Zimbabwe beat Oman at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo by 14 runs
Zimbabwe 332/7 in 50 overs (Sean Williams 142, Luke Jongwe 43*; Fayyaz Butt 4/79, Kaleemullah 1/39)
Oman 318/9 in 50 overs (Kashyap Prajapati 103, Ayaan Khan 47, Aqib Ilyas 45; Blessing Muzarabani 3/57, Tendai Chatara 3/73) — ICC Cricket/Sports Reporter
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